The objectives of the proposed conference are to review the recent developments in the neurobiology of arachidonic acid (AA) and its metabolic products, including prostaglandins, thromboxanes and leukotrienes, in relation to their formation, mode of action and functions in the nervous system. The role of these compounds in the development of certain neurological and possibly psychiatric disorders will also be discussed. Such a conference on basic and clinical research issues related to AA and its derivatives in the nervous system should fill a gap between the extensively researched field of eicosanoids formation and function in physiological systems other than the nervous system and the rapidly developing fields of basic research on signal transduction, modulation of neuronal functions and clinical research on cerebral ischemia, brain injury, convalsive disorders and other neurological or psychiatric disorders. The proposed conference is inherently interdisciplinary in approach as the major areas of discussion concern the biochemical, physiological and pathological aspects of AA and its metabolites in the nervous system. As much of the basic research on the formation and effects of AA and its metabolites in the nervous system has been conducted with animals, a major aim of the conference is to bridge between researchers whose primary interest is in the clinical care of humans and those working with animal models. It is expected that this conference will bring together researchers with divergent backgrounds in the biochemical, neurosciences and clinical fields who have interest in both animal and human research. The following topics will be discussed: Modulation of AA release and metabolism in the nervous system; The AA cascade in the nervous system; AA and its metabolites in signal transduction; Cerebral blood flow and AA metabolism in relation to brain injury and ischemic damage; AA metabolism and convulsive disorders, and finally, AA and its metabolites in normal and abnormal brain functions: Relationship to pain, sleep and mental disorders.